Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by jzeilinger:

A - Pours opaque pitch black with a frothy, creamy toffee colored head, the not much retention when the glass is swirled and the foam settles almost immediately back in the beer.

S - Cocoa, dark chocolate, light coffee beans, and some hot peppers.

T - Dark roasted malt, dark chocolate bitterness, a little bit of dark fruit is buried way down there and there's a noticeable chile pepper finish on the end the warms the back of the throat and has a mild burn.

M - Thick and full bodied, a little frothy and creamy, and some roasted malt and a lingering chile pepper burn at the end. The warming makes the saliva coagulate on thye tongue.

O - The pepper side of this stout makes it interesting, otherwise, without it, even though a solid beer, it wouldn't be as exciting.

More User Reviews:

Reviewed blind as part of Blind BIF 7. This stuf pours a straight obsidian topped by a finger of staunch tan foam. The nose comprises cocoa, mild roasted malts, dark fruits in a Port vein, molasses, and a whisper of cinnamon. The taste brings in more of the same, though the cocoa is now more of a dark chocolate character, the Port-like fruit is now a darker berry-style thing, and some coffee makes an appearance. In addition, towards the finish, a lightly lingering pepper heat comes into play, but it remains fairly subtle for me until things warm up a bit. The body is a strong medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a lightly chewy feel. Overall, a damn nice stout, one that nails complexity without drowning your tongue in confusion. Good times, indeed.

Presentation: 330 ml bottle with freshness date on the label (best before 2010-08-15). The bottle design is rather unique, and quite good looking - like a mini champagne bottle.

Appearance: The beer is basically black, or very dark brown. The 2 cm big head is light brown/beige, thick and creamy, and settles quickly leaving some lacings and a solid lid of foam on top of the beer.

Smell: Lots of coffee and cream hits the nose. Sweet licorice adds more sweet aromas. Some roasted malts and a light twang from the alcohol.

Taste: A prominent taste of milk chocolate together with coffee and vanilla up front. More roasted malts, and a faint fruity flavor. The taste is pleasant and quite complex, but not as big as some imperial stouts. The finish, however, have much more to offer and here the beer truly excels: Here, the chili reveals itself and provides a sharp punch of hot spiciness that blends really well with a considerable hop bitterness and a gentle warmth from the alcohol. The finish is also quite dry, and long.

Drinkability: This is not the biggest imperial stout out there, but I most say I liked it quit a bit. Perhaps, the taste could have been somewhat bolder, but it's still rather complex and well balanced; a gentle sipping beer. The very interesting and pleasant finish gives the beer an edge, a characteristic feature that makes it stand out. The hotness from the chili blends really well with the dry bitterness, and makes the experience a little more interesting. However, please note that it's not a big, unpleasant and overpowering taste of chili, destroying the gentle stout subtleties, we're taking about here, but a well balanced hot spicy twang that results in an interesting and rather successful take at the style. Recommended.

T- A middle of the road stout that is neither too heavy, nor light. The 8.2 is well hidden, and the taste of chili is on the back of your palate and throat.

M- Not so heavy to weight you down, but not thin.

O- I do enjoy this offering from Birrificio del Ducato. The balance of smell, taste, body, and appearance make this an absolute personal favorite and one I would suggest highly for those transitioning from your standard stouts.

Not always do two of my passions coincide, beer and opera. So I couldn't let it pass and had to try it.

A: Dark brown with hints of red brick with a big billowing creamy tan head. Not a common color but interesting. I would say it's the result of the peppers that were used.

S: Hazelnuts, leather, roasted barley, milk chocolate, vanilla, and a hint of spicy peppers. Really dig the smell. Some sweetness too but everything is very subtle and delicate.

T: Lots of hazelnut and only a little of the hot feeling of the peppers. I also get some minerals in the middle of the palate but then the sweetness and spiciness follow in the finish. Very interesting brew for sure. All the flavors are pretty balanced. Very well made. I also get some smokiness. Complex and more leaning towards the sweet side which is good in order to balance the peppers.

M: Feels very smooth and creamy. A little sticky and full bodied. Goes down really well and love the feeling of the peppers, probably because I am Mexican. It reminds me of chipotle chiles with the smoke profile or of spicy Mole with roasted nuts and chocolate flavors.

O: Wasn't expecting a great brew from this. I was mostly interested in the concept of being brewed in honor of G. Verdi, one of the best opera composers of all times. Happy to have tried it and will definitely seek out another bottle. More and more the Italian breweries are getting my attention. Try it if you can!

Pours one shade from black with a two-finger brown head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving light lacing.

Smells of dark chocolate and roasted malts mostly with hints of earthy peppers. The pepper notes are very slight and I'm not sure I'd recognize it unless I knew it was an ingredient.

Tastes good. As with the smell dark and mildly bitter chocolate and roasted malt flavors dominate. Midway through the sip the peppers poke their heads out for a bit of earthiness before fading into the background before re-emerging for a bit of heat in the finish. The ending is solidly bitter.

Mouthfeel is very good. It's got a very smooth thickness with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability is good. I finished my glass and could have another without a problem.

Overall this was a tasty beer however I was hoping for a bit more influence from the peppers. Still, well worth a shot.

(Served in a snifter) A- This beer pours a jet black body with a creamy tan head and a some floating lumps bumping against the glass then hiding back in the body. There are a few tiny bubbles stuck to the base of the glass. S- This beer has a soft chocolate malt aroma with a dry roasted barley note to follow. Otherwise the aroma is pretty clean. There is a dark nougat and raw grain aroma that grows as the beer opens up. T- The cream dark malt flavor is soft with a bigger roasted bitterness in the finish that has some capsicum heat to it. The heat grows and the bitterness fades as the beer opens up and the malt flavor starts to fade a bit aswell. M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel with no alcohol heat and a gentle fizz in the finish. There is a very light chili heat in the finish but it doesn't linker. D- This beer has soft flavors with a big finish that could use a bit more malt support. The heat is subtle but all burn and not much chili flavor. My mouth wasn't hot but my lips started to burn just a bit after the last few sips.

330ml flared bottle. Made with an addition, beyond the usual suspects, of oats and spices (nature unspecified). Ol' Giuseppe appears quite melancholy in his depiction on the label.

This beer pours a solid black, with slight caramel edges at the base, and a voluminous amount of puffy, tightly foamy, and creamy mocha head, which settles rather slowly, eventually leaving some quick-melting curtains of drooping lace around the glass.

The carbonation is lively, but finely textured in its good to go frothiness, the body an aspiring medium weight, and fairly smooth, the oats registering here and there. It finishes off-dry, the sweet roasted malt meeting the challenge from the still active hops and spiciness.

With characteristics from FES, porter, and RIS alike, this is one healthy Euro-centric offering. Agreeable enough, overall, with virtually no hint of the well-integrated big ABV - and in reference to the label-maker's poetic leanings: my thirst (for big beer, anyway) is slaked, and my rancour, while not exactly bitter, is another issue altogether.

Mondiale 2009. A good aroma, bitter, even astringent. Moderate off-white head though lacey, bitter from coffee anmd additives, and a coffee story. Expresso, needs more balance. Interesting beer experiemnt, though not great RIS for my money. Not very drinkable.

Poured black with a tan head, and thicker in the foam than expected. Smelled like roasted coffee. Flavor was more complex with dark chocolate, roasted malt, coffee, and alcohol. Slight alcohol warming in the finish. Overall a fine beer, but very hearty. I'm no expert on the subject, but shouldn't this be a porter?

Flavor is well represented by the nose, but with everything in very subtle proportions. There is a sharp, near-metallic sharpness up front; a light, creamy milk flavor; slight coffee bean and cacao notes; and roasted barley throughout, building to a very bitter and roasty finish.

The flavor note which stands out the most to me is the chile pepper finish, which is surprisingly sharp and hot, especially on the back-end. It makes a dry, grassy appearance up front and throughout, but it really comes through at the end.

Remarkably thin for an imperial stout. Slight foaming; lively, but almost no sting. Very strong heat down the throat from the peppers, which honestly isn't that pleasant. Fairly dry finish, with a milky stickiness that lingers in the mouth while the alcohol and pepper dry you out. An odd (but not unpleasant) juxtaposition.

As my first Italian craft beer, I can't say if the thin mouthfeel, relatively subdued flavors, and back-end burn are typical on their takes on stouts, but compared to an American Imperial Stout - arguably the benchmark - I can't really recommend this beer at the price point.

If this were marketed as a milk stout, clocking in around 4.2% instead of 8.2%, I'd likely be more generous in my ratings. The chile pepper is very well represented, but everything else just feels to subtle in its representation. Good, but far shy of greatness.